Blissfully Insane
by vincehighwind
Summary: This is my first straight couple so bear with me. Rated M just to be safe. Alice now finds herself in Londerland and can't find anyone except a certain red headed carpenter who's wounded at the Mangled Mermaid. As they learn more about each other their feelings develop, but what's happening to Alice in the real world?
1. Carpenter in the Mangled Mermaid

Wonderland was no longer the same and neither was reality. They were fused together now and Alice had nothing to call it other than "Londerland". "Where is everyone?" The young female questioned out loud as she made her way through the streets.

Stopping, she held her chin between her forefinger and thumb thoughtfully. "Maybe Nanny is still around; I'll go check at the _Mangled Mermaid_."

Upon arriving at the brothel, the dark brunette noticed it was quite changed like everything else; the architecture was overgrown with all sorts of plant life. As she entered the building and made her way up the stairs to the rooms where the whores took their clients, she heard a pained groan coming from Nanny's room.

It was too masculine to be who she was looking for. Cautiously, Alice opened the door, keeping in mind she was no longer armed with the Vorpal blade. The door creaked and the dark brunette looked through the crack.

Gasping, the woman opened it wide upon seeing who it was inside.

"Carpenter!"

The red headed man feebly looked up at her, a pained smile forming on his lips. "A-Alice, marvelous to see you again." He grunted before coughing out blood. The female quickly went over to him, hardly noticing that the man was no longer a giant compared to her.

"You're hurt, what happened?"

"Well I remember a train rudely came barging into our performance, I believe you were there." Carpenter replied somewhat sarcastically; Alice frowned. "Well excuse me for being concerned." She said, poking the man's large nose.

Chuckling, the red headed male tried to swat the finger away but then cringed with a yelp of pain from the movement. Alice gasped in surprise. "Careful, you idiot!" There was a pause of silence before finally the woman said, "Where's the Walrus?"

"I don't think he made it back?" Carpenter said sadly.

"Back?"

"I was hit by a train that destroyed everything around it, I disappeared for a while, or maybe you didn't notice!" The man was obviously upset, though why he cared about something like that was beyond Alice.

It got quiet.

"You did horrible things…" The young female said softly.

"I'm well aware of that. But don't forget who pushed you out of the way and who pointed you in the right direction." The dark brunette looked down, somewhat ashamed, but she wasn't going to tell him that.

Scoffing, Carpenter turned to his gaze downward and noticed something poking out of one of the female's blood stained pockets. "What's that?" He asked, pointing at the object in question.

Alice looked at him quizzically, before she followed where the digit was pointing at. "Oh, that…" She replied softly. Taking the thing out of her pocket she showed it to the man.

"A key?"

"My Lizzie's key…"

The woman's face was so full of emotion that he couldn't help but stare. He had never seen her like this before.

"Who's Lizzie?" He asked gently.

"My older sister."

Carpenter never really knew about Alice's family, sure others did but he never really knew the green eyed woman even when she was a child during her very first visit to Wonderland. He was about to say something but stopped himself when he noticed Alice putting the key back into her pocket.

"Anyway, we need to do something about these wounds of yours." The woman said, whatever emotion that had been on her face now gone as she stood up.

"I doubt you'll find anything to dress wounds around here." Carpenter remarked, gingerly shifting his position on the floor. Alice opened the wardrobe and right there, on the top shelf, were bandages.

Turning back towards the man, the green eyed girl smirked in triumph. "Well, that was merely good luck on your part." The red head huffed, looking at the wall as the female chuckled. Alice returned and looked the man over and then suddenly stopped.

"What? What's the matter?" The man asked, starting to feel nervous.

Slowly, the woman raised her head up to look him in the eye, with a complete poker face. "I can't tell what's a wound and what's just the nails you hammered into yourself." Carpenter blushed, feeling quite embarrassed.

"Um, well anywhere that doesn't have a nail is something, I guess." He answered weakly.

* * *

Finally having finished bandaging the red headed man Alice said, "Well, I'll be on my way then."

"Wait!" Carpenter cried out, grabbing her wrist with one large hand. The woman looked at the man still on the ground. "What is it now?"

"Um, well…" He answered, losing a bit of his nerve. "Um," The man tried again more confidently, Alice staring at him annoyed, "why are you leaving?"

"To see if there's anyone else out there in Londerland." She replied, gesturing towards the open door.

_**Londerland?**_Carpenter thought to himself, finding the name strange. "But I'm still in need of your assistance; why not get the mangy cat to do it for you?"

"You mean Cheshire? He wouldn't do that for me, you have our relationship all wrong. It's not like he's a servant that answers my beck and call."

"Shame, what with the way can disappear and reappear." The red head muttered to himself.

"Hey, Cheshire may be exasperating at times but he's my friend, I'm not going to use him to do something I can do myself." Alice shouted, about to make her leave once more in a fury.

"And what am I to you, Alice?" The woman turned around to find sad but serious eyes looking straight into her own. The green eyed female looked back at him, her face devoid of emotion except her eyes; she looked torn between different feelings.

"I don't know." Alice said finally.

"Then stay with me and find out. You are curious, aren't you?"

The two may not know the other very well but one thing was for sure; Alice is naturally curious.


	2. Bad News

"You know, Walrus was the closest thing I had to a friend."

Alice turned her head to look at Carpenter but he wasn't looking at her. He was staring off into space, a sad smile on his lips. He was now resting against a pillow from the bed they were next to, which the woman had tried to lift the man onto, but he was just too heavy and too weak to help her.

"Sure the he was stupid and he had a bottomless pit for a stomach but he was always there." The green eyed female gently placed a hand on the red head's shoulder. "Lizzie was that way with me as well, I loved her very much but she wasn't around much."

"Your sister? Why, weren't you close?" Carpenter asked. Shaking her head Alice replied, "She was much older than I was, she did try to connect with me at times though." That same look was on her face now. The red head believed it to be love and admiration, something he had never seen directed to him before. He almost wished she would look at him like that.

_**What am I thinking?! **_Carpenter shouted in his mind, suppressing the urge to slap himself. "Anyway, you said you disappeared. How did you reach this conclusion?" The girl dressed in blue asked, not even noticing the red head's inner turmoil.

Noticing Alice was asking him a question, Carpenter replied, "Well, I don't know for sure really. It's just when I was hit by the train I felt an extreme pain and then I woke up here and all bloodied up." A thoughtful expression passed over the dark brunette's features.

"Anyway, my wounds should heal up somewhat fast. We folk in Wonderland have always been this way." The red headed man said, changing the subject with a smile. "Then how is it you need my assistance?" Alice questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, well…I just said that because I wanted to get to know you is all."

"Since when did you have an interest in me?"

_**Since I saw that look on your face. **_The man thought to himself. "I've never been alone to tell you the truth." He said, changing the subject.

"Never been without that gluttonous beast?"

"Never."

Alice was a bit taken aback by this statement; a silence formed between the two.

"I'm always alone." The green eyed woman said softly.

"I know." Carpenter replied simply. The woman looked back to see that a small smile was on the man's face. "You don't have to be, not anymore."

* * *

The next day the man had completely healed. Alice was quite surprised by this, having not totally believed the red head when he said he would be better quickly. "I shouldn't find you healing so fast surprising; I blew the Mad Hatter's head clean off his body before and found him alive the next time I saw him."

Carpenter, who had been stretching out, snorted at the woman's comment. "You actually did that?" He asked, a large grin on his face. Alice smirked and that was enough of an answer. The man barked out a laugh.

"Oh, you are a marvel my girl. A marvel!" Feeling a little embarrassed by the praise, the dark brunette changed the subject. "Do you think you'll be able to travel?"

"Travel?" Carpenter repeated, straightening up and looking at the female with a quizzical look. "Yes, we need to find out if anyone else has come back." She answered, making her way towards the door.

"Alice, I have something to ask you." The red head said, his voice deadly serious now.

"What?" The one in blue asked as she turned back towards the other.

"What exactly happened while I was gone?"

The Carpenter actually saw the girl flinch, her grip tight on the door frame. "Nothing you need to know right now, Carpenter." She replied in a voice that sounded dangerous. "You must have found out something about the train, who might have created it-"The red head started but was interrupted suddenly.

"I SAID YOU DON'T NEED TO KNOW THAT!" Alice screamed out, losing her composure.

The red head wanted to press further but knew when to drop it. The woman breathed heavily from her outburst. "Come on, let's go." She said finally, refusing to look at the man.

The Carpenter wanted to say something further but knew it was just better if he dropped it for now. He followed the woman as she made her way downstairs and out of the building. As they began to go down a street a figure suddenly began to form in front of them.

"Cheshire." Alice said simply.

"Have my entrances lost their mystery already?" A voice spoke as the figure became visible.

The cat looked them over before a trademark grin appeared. "I see you've found a new traveling companion. Alice, I'm hurt."

"You were hardly around on my journeys before; I don't see why you should be so insulted." The green eyed female answered back smoothly. The red head could see this was a normal thing between the two.

"I seem to remember you not wanting me around." The feline then looked at Carpenter directly. "I wasn't aware you were in speaking terms with this man, I came to the conclusion that you hated him."

Carpenter flinched, he couldn't help thinking this as well after the argument he had with the girl earlier as well as everything else he'd done.

"I don't hate him; I don't know what to think of him right now to be honest." Alice answered Cheshire's earlier statement. The red head looked at the woman, feeling his heart flutter in his chest. An emotion came along with it, something like…hope.

_**What's wrong with me? **_He thought to himself. "Well whatever you feel about him, I have come to tell you something." Cheshire said, his knowing eyes still on the man. Carpenter gulped nervously; did the cat know something he didn't?

"What is it now?" The green eyed girl asked, sounding impatient.

"Simply this. Look out for a certain green winged creature with a burning furnace on his chest." Alice's body stiffened, her face turned white.

"Alice, Alice, what's wrong?!" The red headed man cried out, placing his large hands onto her small shoulders. "Oh, she didn't like that news at all." The cat remarked casually, not as affected to her reaction as the man was.

"And what news was that anyway?!" The man shouted.

"Don't you know?" Cheshire asked mockingly. "The Jabberwocky's back."

"The what?" Carpenter asked, completely clueless.

"Ah, that's right, you don't know about him do you?" Cheshire smiling wider, if that was even possible. Now the red head could see why the woman found the cat so annoying.

"OK then, enlighten me."

"The Jabberwocky is a creature that seems to have the sole purpose of making Alice feel guilty about everything." The man's eyes widened. One thing he knew about Alice was she felt she was guilty far too much already, though to what he didn't know.

"What exactly does she feel guilty about?" Carpenter asked cautiously.

"Her family mostly but with what she's discovered recently…oh, she would utterly break." The feline sounded almost too pleased at the idea for the red head's taste.

"I don't even know why she considers you a friend." The man said, something like loathing creeping into his voice. "Oh, did she say something to that effect? If she thinks we're good pals then I wonder what she thinks of someone like you."

"I don't like you."

"Never said you had to." And with that, Cheshire disappeared.


	3. The Tweedles Retrieval

Carpenter now sat in another building only this time it was his turn to watch over Alice. This building wasn't equipped with a bed like the last one however so he did the only thing he could in an attempt to keep her comfortable until she woke up: have her lie on the floor with her head in his lap.

"You're lucky you know. I don't do this for just anyone." The red head grumbled with a deep blush.

The male tried to look at anything but her but was failing miserably. Finally, he allowed himself to look down at her slumbering face and he bit his lip nervously. _**I've always known she's good looking but…**_

Carpenter reached out a hand towards the woman's face but drew it back suddenly when she breathed in suddenly. There was a moment's pause, the man making sure she wasn't waking up, before he reached out again. Catching a few stray hairs from her cheek he then gently tucked them behind her ear.

She smiled slightly as if she somehow sensed the kind gesture.

The red head smiled as well.

* * *

Alice eventually had pulled herself together, though she was still worried about the Jabberwock; Carpenter, on the other hand, was more worried about his traveling companion then the dragon-like creature.

"Are you sure you're alright?" The red head questioned. "For the last time, yes, I'm fine." The woman answered, feeling quite annoyed with the man by now. Really though, it was sort of sweet that he cared; she hadn't had someone do that for her in a long while.

"Well if you're sure…."

"Yes, I'm sure."

They walked in silence for a bit, the Carpenter glancing at the female from time to time. "So, where are we going to look first?" He finally asked.

"I'm not sure, perhaps we should see if we can find the Caterpillar. Though I suppose he's a butterfly now. Anyway he might make sense of all this." Alice replied.

"Ah, right. Of course, why didn't I think of that?" The red head replied.

The woman didn't reply, absent-mindedly putting some of her hair behind her ear. Carpenter noticed this and blushed as he looked away. Alice, however, noticed this.

"What's gotten into you?"

"Nothing, my dear, nothing at all!" The red head said with a grin, a nervous laugh leaving him. The female raised an eyebrow at this but then began to laugh. "You are so strange!"

"I'm strange? What about you, odd one?" Carpenter said, attempting to sound serious but failing miserably.

Alice smiled at the red head. "All right, congratulations."

"What for?" The red head said in confusion.

"You actually succeeded at making me laugh."

"What?!" Carpenter gasped in mock surprise, slapping a hand onto his forehead. "So you **are** aware of of being a sourpuss normally?!"

"Don't push it!" Alice cried out in warning.

It was then that the two heard a noise in front of them which caught their attention immediately.

"Who's there?!" The woman yelled out, feeling nervous that she still didn't have a weapon.

"Look Dum, she has a friend! What do we do now?"

"This shouldn't change things, he's probably not **really** her friend anyway."

Two round figures stood in front of them, one larger than the other.

"You're right, Dee. She isn't good enough to have friends."

The red head gritted his teeth in anger and moved forward. "Carpenter! Stay away from them, those are the-!" The woman cried out, ready to reach out and grab the man.

"Tweedles!" The tall man snarled as he grabbed at his hammer from his belt.

_**Where did his hammer come from? **_Alice wondered as she was distracted enough to stop going after the Carpenter.

"Oh, Carpenter! Didn't recognize you for a second, you look different from the last time we saw each other!" Dum said, trying to sound pleasant but not succeeding all that much.

The smaller Tweedle then screamed as the hammer connected to the side of his head. Dee cried out in fear as the red head then turned towards him. "Does it look like I'm **pretending** to be her friend?" The red head growled out.

The larger Tweedle shook his head violently.

"Good. Now that that's out of the way…" Carpenter said with a pleasant smile, he then waved over to Alice. "Everything's alright now, you can come over!"

The female felt shocked but also somewhat…grateful.

_**He actually cares…**_

She made then made her way over, her eyes on the red headed male. Carpenter grinned and turned towards the smaller Tweedle who still lied injured on the ground, voice still pleasant. "So what brings you two here?"

Dum groaned in pain as he sat up, a large wound bleeding on the side of his head. "We were just here to retrieve her."

"Retrieve?" Alice said, the tone of her voice showing her distrust.

"Yes, the Hatter wants ya." The smaller Tweedle answered.

"And why the hell would he want with her!" The tall man snarled, everyone noticing that his grip on his hammer tightened.

"He didn't say, honest!" Dum replied, holding a hand up in defense.

"Hmm..." The woman hummed in thought, her thumb and forefinger holding her chin.

"Alice?" Carpenter asked, looking towards her.

"Maybe we should see him." Alice finally said.

"What are you saying?! That man is insane!" The red head cried out In objection. The female looked at the man with a strange look on her face.

"He might know where the Cati- I mean the Butterfly is!"

Carpenter, who was giving her an angry look, finally calmed down.

"I guess you're right," he sighed.

Alice smirked. "Of course I am," she remarked as she patted him on the arm.

The Tweedles exchanged a look before Dum jerked his head towards the other two with a raised eyebrow. Dee just shrugged his shoulders dramatically.

* * *

As the two followed the Tweedles, Alice couldn't stop looking over at the man beside her. Carpenter noticed but pretended he didn't, paying more attention on the siblings in front of them, watching for any hint of foul play.

"Why?" The woman finally asked.

"Why? Why what?" The red head replied, still a bit distracted.

"Why did you attack Dum in my defense?" Alice clarified.

"Because, my dear, he down right insulted you and I didn't take kindly to it." The red head explained thinking it was obvious. "Yes, but why would that matter to you?" The female questioned further.

"Because," Carpenter said, finally looking back at her, "you matter...to me."

Alice blushed but then demanded, "Why is that?"

"Because…You know you ask a lot of questions." The male responded, trying to change the subject.

"You already know I'm the curious type." She said with a smirk.

"Hey you two love birds, we're almost there!" Dum called out while his brother laughed at his comment.

"What did he just call us?!" Alice cried out indignantly, her blush making an appearance once more.

"C-Calm down, he's just trying to get a rise out of us." Carpenter said feeling a little flustered himself as he tried desperately to calm the woman down. _**Is that moron trying to get killed?!**_

Dee, who was still laughing, obviously he had forgotten how dangerous the female could be. "Well, you two looked like you were flirting back there!"

Alice snarled, making a grab at Carpenter's hammer. "Easy there, Alice. You know how small their brains are." The red head said, trying to move out of reach so the woman couldn't get to the weapon.

"I don't care! They've got some nerve making assumptions about other people's relationships!"

It was then that the woman managed to grab the hammer's handle. Carpenter saw this and, out of pure panic, jerked back which caused the man to stumble backwards followed by Alice.

"Ooph!"

The red head sat back on his elbows, looking a bit dizzy. "Ugh, are you OK, Alice?"

There was a muffled response, which Carpenter also felt on his chest. His eyes widened and he then looked down to see the female was face down on top of him.

Alice pushed herself up, looking quite pissed. Pushing her hair from her face she then noticed their position as well. A blush slowly formed on both of their cheeks.

"I-I-I..." Carpenter stuttered, his brain somehow not working correctly.

"Carpenter." She said slowly.

"Uh, yes?" The red head asked.

"Why the hell did you move away when I trying to get your hammer?!"

Carpenter made a comically surprised face, obviously he had been hoping she say something else.

Alice huffed in anger, some hair falling in her face once more. The red head reached out a little without thinking but the woman beat him to it without noticing, her hair now safely behind her ear once more.

"Oh, forget it!" She cried out, quickly getting to her feet, leaving Carpenter still on the ground with an outstretched hand.


	4. Confessions at the Tea Table

The rest of the trip was in complete silence. Carpenter would look over towards the female next to him but would quickly look away, afraid he would get in even more trouble with her if he was caught staring.

Alice, on the other hand, was looking anywhere but at the red head. Obviously she wasn't going to let what had happened earlier any time soon.

It got to the point that the tall man couldn't take it anymore and was about to give her a piece of his mind but was interrupted.

"We're here." The Tweedles announced at the same time.

"Finally..." The brunette said under her breath, walking up ahead and leaving Carpenter behind.

They were in a clear area that was still surrounded by buildings, a bunch of tables that were overgrown with plant life pushed together in a line. At the head of this makeshift table stood the Mad Hatter who was muttering to himself and seemed to have not noticed he had company.

"We brought her, Hatter!" Dum said loudly.

"Actually, I brought myself, thank you very much." Alice corrected with her arms folded.

"Hmm, oh Alice, there you are!" Hatter exclaimed, making his way over.

Carpenter, although still angered by Alice's treatment of him, instinctively grabbed the handle of his weapon as the other man got closer to the brunette.

"Yes, I'm here. Now what do you want with me?" The woman replied, irritated.

"I want you," the man with a gear in his back said, suddenly grabbing one of her hands and kneeling down onto one knee, "to be mine."

Alice's green eyes widened in shock and revulsion, unable to say anything.

However, someone **did** have something to say.

"Oh, HELL no!"

Both the one in blue and Hatter looked towards the one who spoke.

"You can't be serious! Since when have you given her the time of day anyway?!" Carpenter shouted, making his way over to two of them.

"You know it's always tea time." The Mad Hatter remarked, obviously not understanding what the red head was saying.

"Fuck, you know what I mean! Why do you suddenly care?!" The red head demanded, trying to tug Alice away.

"Because I'm lonely! The March Hare and the Dormouse are gone!" The green skinned man screamed, tightening his grip on the brunette's wrist.

"Ow, you're hurting me!" Alice cried out in pain and anger.

Hatter didn't seem hear her or just didn't care. He then pulled the female closer to him possessively. "You let her go now or I'll kill you and sure you never come back!" Carpenter snarled, getting ready to swing his hammer at the other man.

"You don't want to do that." The green skinned one whispered dangerously.

"And why not?!" The red head questioned.

"Because I can't guarantee she won't get hurt." Hatter answered, pushing the one in blue in front of him as a human shield.

"You son of a-!"

"Tweedles!"

Carpenter then felt fat arms loop around his armpits, preventing him from moving. "Fuck you!" The red head screamed in fury as he tried to throw off the larger Tweedle but not succeeding.

"Get that nasty hammer away from him too!" Hatter commanded, moving back towards the tables with Alice still captive in his arms.

"Bet you wish you let your girlfriend kill us now, huh?" Dum remarked cheekily as he took Carpenter's hammer.

The tall man said nothing but then suddenly spit onto the smaller Tweedle's face. "Ah, fuck! You're going to regret that Carpenter!"

Dum then made a move to hit the defenseless red head with his own weapon but was stopped by sudden shout "Tweedles, get over here! We're going to have a tea party now."

* * *

Carpenter glared at the Hatter all the way across the table, him being on the other end. Alice had been seated right next to the green skinned man and she looked mortified, hot tears falling down her face.

The two of them were tied down to their chairs with some strong vines, which both of them had struggled against several times.

"Now dear, you know you ruin your pretty features when make a face like that." The Mad Hatter remarked, sipping out of a teacup which Carpenter had no idea where he could have found. Along with the tea, for that matter.

"Shut up." The red head said softly in response to Hatter's earlier remark.

"I'm sorry, did you say anything over there?" The green skinned male asked as he looked over at Carpenter.

"Yeah, I did. I said shut the fuck up!" The red head yelled, lunging towards the other man in his restraints.

"My, those are terrible manners." Hatter said simply before turning towards Alice. "Now, Alice about your-"

"My manners are terrible? Have you ever noticed yours, because last I checked, you don't say such things to a lady!" Carpenter talked back, looking like he was on the verge of having a psychotic break.

"And what, pray tell, do you know about how to talk to a woman?" The green skinned man asked.

"Not much I'm afraid. However, if you really cared about her you have said something about her beautiful eyes or her gorgeous hair!"

Alice slowly looked over at the red head, her teary eyes showing an unreadable emotion. "You tell her how strong she is and how honored you are to be in very presence every single day." Carpenter continued, his voice now full of passion, his eyes only on her.

"Hmm, well that's nice," Hatter commented, none of the words the other man was saying being taken o heart. He then reached out towards the brunette next to him, which caused her to flinch, and began playing with her hair.

"DON'T TOUCH HER!"

This outburst caused everyone to jump in surprise and they all looked towards the one who had caused it. Carpenter was now standing, the vines that had been tying him down in shreds now.

"Wait, how did you do that?!" The Mad Hatter cried out, pointing towards the other male in astonishment.

The red head said nothing and slowly made his way over towards the green skinned male.

"Tweedles!" The Hatter yelped.

The two siblings made a move towards Carpenter but he swung out at them, the action so fast his arm was a blur. Both Tweedles fell to the ground in a heap, the same exact hammer that had been taken away from him now in his hand.

"What?! When did you manage to get that back?!" The green skinned man actually looked terrified for his life at this point.

"I didn't." The red head answered.

Hatter screamed in fear looking for a way out before his eyes fell back on Alice. Laughing, he grabbed her and she cried out, kicking the air.

"You don't want to hurt her. I know you don't." Mad Hatter said between frightened giggles.

Carpenter looked Alice in the eye and asked, "Do you trust me?"

She nodded immediately.

"Then duck! Now!"

The brunette didn't question it, only did as she was told.

"Wait, what?!" Hatter exclaimed.

But before the green skinned man realized what was happening, the Carpenter's hammer connected with the side of his head so hard, he was decapitated.

As the Mad Hatter's headless body fell, the red head caught Alice in his arms.

"Alice?"

The brunette looked up at Carpenter's face. "Yes?"

"I love you."


End file.
